Kurosaki Ichigo is a 15 year old boy that has an ability to see ghosts/spirits. Because of his ability, he is able to meet a female death god (a.k.a Shinigami) named Kuchiki Rukia. To save his family and friends from unwanted soul-eating spirits (Hollows), Rukia transfers her Shinigami powers to Ichigo. As Rukia takes on a human shell, together they solve mysteries involving spirits and hollows until from the spirit world comes 2 other shinigamis explaining that it is illegal to transfer Shinigami powers to humans and Rukia exceeded the time limit to stay in the human world. After they sentence her death for breaking the laws, Ichigo snaps and swears to everyone he will retrieve Rukia by breaking into the spirit world.

Kurosaki Ichigo was born gifted with the power to see spirits. But one fateful day, trying to save a spirit he met from a Hollow, he finds he's power goes beyond just spirits but Shinigami (death god) like Kuchiki Rukia. In an attempt to save his family from Hollows, he creates a pact with Rukia to become a Shinigami. However, Ichigo's power was beyond what Rukia imagined and she soon found she was stripped of her powers, becoming a wandering soul. After the ordeal, Rukia remains in the human world with the help of Uruhara (former death god) to help Ichigo deal with spirits and Hollows. By the time Rukia began to understand and fit in with the human world, two other shinigamis appear to force Rukia back for her punishment in relinquishing her power to a human - that is death. Ichigo and his friends - Sado, Inoue and Ishida - all enter vigorous training to enter Soul Society (spirit world) to rescue their friend before it's too late.